Assam State Legislative Assembly gets new address

Memories of 17 Governors, 11 Chief Ministers, 13 Speakers, and 17 Deputy Speakers etched on old building

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) will get its new address on July 30, although the work of the Assembly is still underway. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the new Assembly building on July 30, 2023.

This is the third new address for the after its shifting to Dispur from Shillong in 1972, after the completion of a 50-year journey.

The construction of the new building started in 2009 on the existing premises of the Assam Assembly. The construction cost of the new building was initially estimated at Rs 234 crore but was later increased to Rs 351 crore.

Though the forthcoming session of the State Assembly will be in the new building, the Assembly Secretariat will continue to function in the old building until the construction of the new building is complete.

The present 50-year-old Assembly building has the memories of many political leaders and activists etched on it. The first session of the Assam Legislative Assembly was held at its present address for the first time after the shift of the capital from Shillong to Dispur in 1972, on March 16, 1973. And it was a budget session. Braj Kumar Nehru served as the Governor of Assam, and Sharat Chandra Singha was the Chief Minister. The first Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly was Ramesh Chandra Barua of Dibrugarh, and Golok Chandra Rajbanshi of Rangapara served as the Deputy Speaker. Since then, the old building of the Assam Assembly in Dispur has served as a memorial to 17 governors, 11 Chief ministers, 13 speakers, and 17 Deputy Speakers.

The Speaker of the Assembly was Ramesh Chandra Barooah from March 22, 1972, to March 20, 1978; Jogendra Nath Hazarika from March 21, 1978 to September 4, 1979; Sheikh Chand Mohammad from November 7 to January 7, 1986; Pulakesh Barua from January 9, 1986 to July 27, 1991; Jibakanta Gogoi from July 29, 1991 to December 9, 1992; Debesh Chandra Chakraborty from December 21, 1992 to June 11, 1996; Ganesh Kutum from June 12, 1996 to May 24, 2001; Prithibi Majhi from May 30, 2001 to May 19, 2006; Tanka Bahadur Rai from May 29, 2006 to May 19, 2011; Pranab Kumar Gogoi from June 6, 2011 to May 19, 2016; Ranjeet Kumar Dass from June 1, 2016 to January 30, 2017; Hitendra Nath Goswami from January 30, 2017 to May 20, 2021; and Biswajit Daimary from May 21, 2021.

The deputy speakers in the State Assembly from 1972 are Golok Chandra Rajbanshi, Sheikh Chand Mohammad, G Ahmed, NC Kath Hazarika, Bhadreshwar Buragohain, Balobhadra Tamuli, Debesh Chakraborty, Prithibi Majhi, Nurul Hussain, Renupama Rajkhowa, Tanka Bahadur Rai, Pranati Phukan, Bhimanand Tanti, Dilip Kumar Paul, Kripanath Mallah, Aminul Haque Laskar, and Dr. Numal Momin

The first session of the Assam Legislative Assembly was held on April 7, 1937, at the Assembly House in Shillong. The two-day session elected Babu Basanta Kumar Das as the first Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly. He was the Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly up to March 11, 1946, and Debeswar Sarmah from March 12, 1946, to October 10, 1947. Laksheswar Borooah was the Speaker of the State Assembly from November 5, 1947, to March 3, 1952. After the adoption of the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950, and the general elections held in 1952 under the Constitution, Kuldhar Chaliha, Devakanta Barua, Mahendra Mohan Chowdhury, Hareshwar Goswami, and Mohikantha Das served as Speakers of the Assam Legislative Assembly in Shillong.

The Assam Assembly was moved from Shillong to Dispur in 1972, and the Assam Assembly was held on March 16, 1973, in the present building.

The old building of the Assam Assembly commemorates the 50th anniversary of 11 Chief Ministers from 1973 to the present. There are many people who have served as Chief Ministers, including Sharat Chandra Singha, Golap Barbara, Jogendra Nath Hazarika, Syeda Anwara Taimur, Keshab Chandra Gogoi, Hiteshwar Saikia, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Bhumidhar Barma, Tarun Gogoi, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The new building was used for one day when Sarbananda Sonowal was the Chief Minister and Hitendra Nath Goswami was the Speaker.

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